


running through the jungle (to get to you)

by Arch_imedes



Category: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Idk y’all I watched jumaji and now we’re here, What a hill I’ve picked to die on, how is THIS my first fic?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27240643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arch_imedes/pseuds/Arch_imedes
Summary: Jumanji can sense what’s happening between Bethany and Alex. It begins to plot.
Relationships: Alex Vreeke & Bethany Walker, Alex Vreeke/Bethany Walker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	1. i had been hungry, all the years

**Author's Note:**

> Jumanji likes to feast on its victims...it can’t quite resist the emotions running high between Alex and Bethany.

Alex could never remember his time in Jumanji fully. The days blurred and mingled together like ink on wet paper. Only those first, frantic days and his two deaths stood out among the passing of days, weeks...years, even though he was unaware they had passed. Sometimes he wondered if the fuzzy memories, like the margaritas he drank, were a coping mechanism for the loneliness and fear that he struggled with. Other times he attributed the uncertainty of the passage of time to the strangeness of living in a video game. Perhaps, he thought, no time had passed at all. How could it, when Seaplane’s body never changed, and the jungle never seemed to either? 

Jumanji knew differently. It had fed off of Alex, savoring the delicious emotions he gave off. Stress, fear, sadness...they were all a mouthwatering feast to the game after the years of slow starvation following Alan Parrish’s escape so long ago. But twenty years had passed and whether he knew it or not, one boy was no longer enough for the ravenous being that was Jumanji. And so the drums beat again, summoning fresh blood into the game.


	2. i have found the one my soul loves

Alex didn’t know what he was thinking when he let four new people—dangerous people—waltz into his monotonous little life. Oh, they weren’t like half the NPC’s in the game, who’d have been happy to end his final life for him, but they threatened to throw the careful life of not caring he’d built for himself into upheaval.

Alex knew he’d been alone for longer than he cared to find out, knew Seaplane’s innate charisma was a thin veneer over the cracks forming after so long alone.

Even still, the bickering was getting on his nerves. Didn’t they ever shut up?

He tried to picture them in their own bodies. There was no way Spencer looked anything like his avatar, for one. Martha he gathered was a redhead either way, although he thought that like Spencer, she fell into the role of nerd rather than “bombshell that can kill you with her pinky.” Fridge (and what kind of name was that anyway?) Alex pictured another foot taller, minus the stupid Boy Scout-style vest and Dora-the-Explorer backpack.

And Bethany...he had an inkling (slightly more than an inkling) that she was miles out of his league, even in the body of Shelly Oberon, curvy (male) genius. Sure, she was constantly talking about Instagram, whatever that was, and she seemed a little shallow, but he thought it was all an elaborate cover. Why she thought it was necessary he had no clue, but jungle or no jungle he wanted to find out what made Bethany Walker tick.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bethany huffed a little as she struggled to keep pace with the others in her new body. Shelley Oberon, curvy genius her _ass_. Who made an adventure game character with no endurance?! She thought longingly of her own body. She might have been no better suited to survival in this crazy game as herself than as Shelly, but at least she wouldn’t be lagging behind the others.

“Hey.” Came a voice from beside her. Bethany stifled a shriek and blindly kicked out at the voice before belatedly realizing it was Alex.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, readjusting Shelly’s glasses. “You scared me.”

“My bad.” Alex said, matching her pace and throwing her a shy glance. They walked on in silence for a moment before Alex spoke again.

“So how’s it feel to be a guy?” Bethany stared a little and he flushed. “Sorry, that’s a weird question. You don’t have to answer that.”

“No it’s okay. I’d have Instagrammed peeing like a boy earlier if I’d had my phone.” Bethany giggled. “I think I can share what this feels like.”

Alex snorted a little. “I hope you remembered to aim.”

“What is it with boys and aiming?! Do all boys have a complex??” Bethany demanded.

“I dunno. My dad used to put Cheerios in the toilet bowl so I could practice when I was really little.”

Bethany stared.

_“Ew.”_

Alex winced. God, he was out of practice talking to girls. Had he ever been in practice in the first place?

“So how old are you?” He asked hurriedly, praying she’d let penises and aiming go.

“Seventeen,” she said brightly. “You?”

“Sixteen...I think, anyway. I could be seventeen by now.”   
  


“So we’re basically the same age! I bet you’re totally cute even when you’re not in Seaplane’s body.” Bethany flirted, feeling a little ridiculous hitting on the cute boy next to her while she was in the body of a middle aged man. God, she probably came across as a total creeper.   
  


Alex blushed furiously. “I- I dunno, I guess that depends on how into drummers you are?” He offered.   
  
“Ooooh, baby.” Bethany winked. He swallowed convulsively. Bethany watched the way his throat moved, wondered suddenly what it would be like to kiss him there.

”Guys!” Martha shouted. “Could you at least _try_ to keep up?!”

The moment was broken. Bethany sighed and trudged on, but when she looked over at Alex again he was watching her, a smile playing at the edges of his mouth. She flushed and looked down, for once shocked out of her usual brazen facade. But a moment later she glanced up again, saw his steady, earnest gaze, and smiled back. Maybe being Shelly wasn’t so bad after all.   
  
  


Jumanji sensed the change in emotions from the pair before they did. It was promising, very promising....they stood the chance of becoming a meal that would sustain Jumanji for a very long time. And so the game began to manipulate what it could to trap its victims.


	3. you may look as you did the day before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night fell quickly in Jumanji that first day in the jungle.

Night fell too quickly their first day in Jumanji. The game, though its players were unaware, was manipulating what it could in order to feed.

Something was approaching.

”My dear Doctor Bravestone! So lovely to see you again, though I do wish it could have been under different circumstances.” Came a cheery British voice, startling the group. It had been so quiet, bar the crackling of the flames and the humming of cicadas (were they really cicadas?), that the sudden voice had everyone on their feet in seconds. 

Alex bit back a curse, startled by Nigel’s sudden appearance. He, and the others who’d all be huddled around the fire they’d coaxed into being, stared confusedly at the NPC.   
  


“....hey, Nigel.” Spencer said slowly. “What- uh, what are you doing here?”

Nigel clapped his hands together.

“Why, to offer you a new piece of advice to aid in your search for the jewel, of course! I happened to overhear a few of Van Pelt’s army and I came to find you as soon as I could.” 

Alex glanced at the others. This seemed a little odd, even for Jumanji. _Then again, what isn’t weird about this place._ Alex thought. _Next thing you know a unicorn is gonna prance out in front of us and do tricks._

”What’s the advice?” asked Martha, hesitating a little, as if she didn’t believe it was truly advice. 

”I’m so glad you asked, Ruby Roundhouse, Killer of Men! The advice is this: _the puzzle is complete, it’s true, but there still remains something you must undo.”_

Silence reigned for a moment. 

“So, like, what’s the puzzle?” Bethany asked, hoping against hope Nigel would give them an answer.   
  


“I’m afraid I can’t help you there, my dear Professor Oberon. This seems to be beyond my abilities to decipher.”   
  


“Damn it.” Bethany mumbled. Beside her, Alex shrugged.   
  
“Worth a shot.”   
  


“Well, I must now take my leave of you all. Jumanji still remains in great peril, and I must do my best to uncover what I can to aid your quest. Until next time, chaps!”   
  
With that, Nigel departed as suddenly as he’d arrived. Alex wondered for a moment at the eerie silence of his entry and exit, as if he truly just blinked into being when he was meant to tell players necessary information, and out of it again when he wasn’t.   
  


“What the hell was that?” Fridge demanded. “First he said find a jewel and stick it in a statue, now he says that’s not enough and we gotta undo a freakin puzzle?! What the hell, man!”   
  


“It must be a side quest or something.” Spencer said contemplatively. “What do you think he means by the puzzle being complete?”   
  


Martha shook her head. “It’s not like we’re finished with the actual job...quest, whatever. So it’s not that.”

They talked over the possibilities a while longer, growing more frustrated at the lack of answers. Spencer’s temper rose as one idea after the other was discarded, and he kicked at a fallen log, sending it spiraling into the dark jungle.

”It doesn’t make sense!” He exclaimed frustratedly. “How can we move forward when we can’t even figure out a clue?! We can’t be stuck here forever, I have a paper due!”

”Guys, relax,” Alex soothed. “We’re a team now, we’ll figure this out together, okay?”

”Team.” Bethany mumbled. “The team’s complete now— _oh my god.”_

Alex whipped his head around to look at her.  
  
“What?!” He asked anxiously. “Bethany, what’s wrong?”  
  
“We’re a team!” She said frantically. he shook his head not understanding.   
  


“You joined before us, Alex! You couldn’t really start the game because we weren’t all here. We’re a full team now, the puzzle’s complete! It’s us—we’re the puzzle!”   
  


Comprehension dawned on Alex and the others. It made sense, it really did, but—  
  


“Shit, man, how are we supposed to know what to undo then?” Fridge grumbled. Bethany scoffed.   
  


“Don’t look at me, I just figured out the first half like a total boss.” She said, tossing her head contemptuously.

”All I know is it’s late, and the game’s gonna throw something new at us tomorrow whether we’re ready for it or not.” Alex cut in. “I vote we figure the rest out in the morning.”   
  


The others reluctantly agreed and began to settle down for the night. Fridge rummaged around in his backpack, eventually pulling out five squishy purple sleeping bags, tossing them out like footballs. Alex caught Bethany’s for her, passing it over with a small smile. Their hands brushed as she took it, Shelly’s smooth, inkstained fingers catching over Seaplane’s calloused palm, and Bethany found herself blushing a little as she thanked him.   
  
“Anytime.” He winked, unrolling his sleeping bag. She gave a shy smile, feeling awkward yet again in her new body as she laid out her sleeping bag. She blushed hotly at the realization that he’d laid his out right next to hers, close enough that when they laid down she was able to stare openly at Seaplane’s handsome face and wonder at the boy behind it long after the others fell asleep. As for Alex, he dropped quickly into sleep and dreamt of long blonde hair and warm, sparkling eyes.   
  


All around them, Jumanji watched and thought that things were moving along very well indeed. 


	4. over the sea and the smoke

Alex woke with a start, suddenly aware of twigs snapping and branches rustling nearby. All he could see was tan; his sleep-fuzzed mind struggled to awareness and he realized he was staring at Bethany's broad back. It was very close, much closer than it had been when he'd fallen asleep the night before. All at once he realized he'd been staring so closely at her back because he was tucked right up behind her, _spooning her._ A rush of embarrassment flooded him. _Was he...._ He shifted awkwardly, trying to discreetly suss out the situation. _God, he was._ Alex willed himself to think of anything but the warmth of her back, the dreams he'd had all night of soft blonde hair and sweet smiles, of delicate hands touching him, caressing him. 

Another snapped twig brought him out of his reverie. He jolted upright, jostling Bethany in the process. She, not being used to the need to remain alert even in sleep in the jungle, mumbled something about _"nooo, it can't be Monday yet"_ and swatted at him before finally stirring. 

"Alex?" she said blearily. "Wha's goin on?" Alex patted her shoulder hastily, trying not to make her panic even as he held one finger to his lips. She nodded, still half-asleep and confused, but kept quiet. Alex rolled to his knees, hand going to his holstered knife even as he scanned the nearby trees. The others were still asleep, scattered around the remains of the fire. He couldn't see anything coming towards them. Suddenly Bethany hit his arm, slowly pointing up at the trees above them. He looked up. All around them were circling panthers, eyes glowing eerily in the dim predawn light. He sucked in a breath. 

"The others?" she breathed, so quietly Alex could barely make out her words. He just barely shook his head, trying desperately not to make any sudden movements or noises that would startle the panthers above them into action. 

"Don't want them to startle the panthers." He murmured back. Bethany stamped down her rising panic. What were they supposed to _do?_ There were freaking panthers staring at them like she and Alex were a delicious breakfast and all they had between them was a map and a knife. 

"Do you think...if we run for it, would they chase us and leave the others?" she whispered. 

"Maybe, but how do we get rid of them if we do?"

The decision was made for them when, with an awful shriek, a panther leapt down towards them. Bethany stumbled to her feet, still tangled in her sleeping bag. She cursed as she kicked desperately out of the bag before Alex grabbed her arm and began running. The others, startled awake by the terrible scream, shouted behind them, but Alex and Bethany couldn't stop--the panthers tore after them, herding them away from the rest of the team. 

"Go, go, go!" He yelled frantically. They tore through the jungle, sprinting aimlessly. Thoughts of quests and jewels were nothing--who cared where they ended up so long as they were able to escape the panthers? Bethany scrabbled for her map as they ran, trusting Alex wouldn't let her smack into a tree. It rearranged itself before her eyes, showing the jungle and the panthers before zooming in on a cave. _Bonus Mission: Spelunking_ appeared in delicate script. _Fuck, they were gonna die._

"Look for a cave!" she yelled as Alex pulled her along even faster. Shelly's lack of endurance was catching up to her. Bethany sucked in gulps of air, feeling her lungs burn. The panthers were closing in on them--she could almost feel them as they swiped at her heels. Then she saw it--the cave. It loomed off to the side, dark, gaping mouth looking almost as terrifying as the panthers chasing them. Almost.

"There!" she pointed. Alex veered towards the cave, kicking out at the panther that lashed out, wickedly sharp claws gleaming as they lashed out at them. They hurtled into the cave and were immediately plunged into darkness as rocks started rolling down from above the cave mouth, blocking them in--and the panthers out. Bethany clutched at Alex, sucking in burning lungfuls of air. 

"What the hell was that?" he whispered. "They didn't care about the others at all--only us. Why would they single us out?" 

"I don't know," Bethany gasped. "But I have a feeling we're about to find out." She raised a shaky finger to the glowing trail of mushrooms beckoning them deeper into the dark, mysterious cave. 


	5. eyes could blaze like meteors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cave is dark and damp and eerie. God knows what’s waiting for them further inside. But Bethany is holding his hand and looking at him with eyes full of trust and he just has to believe it’s going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been a couple days since I updated. All I can say is 2020 is a sucky, sucky year my friends.

Being trapped inside a cave because a horde of panthers chased you there but didn’t get to actually _eat_ you because a rockslide sealed the cave the second you set foot in it is pretty batshit crazy, okay? Alex knows he’s been here a while but he’s pretty sure he hasn’t seen something that wild before. Bethany’s got a wild look in her eyes, like she can’t quite believe what just happened and would like nothing more than to pretend it absolutely didn’t.

But they’re sealed into a freaking cave with no way out and no way of letting the others know where to go, so their options are pretty much limited to ‘follow the trail of freaky glowing mushrooms and hope for the best.’ If they make it out of the cave alive, Alex is never, ever gonna do shrooms, he knows that much.   
  


Bethany slides a hand into his, slightly damp from the anxiety that can pretty much be expected after the last twenty minutes, but soft and warm in his. He squeezes it, looks at her tense face in the dim light provided by the glowing fungi.   
  
“Together?”   
  


Bethany nodded jerkily. “Together.”   
  


They carefully picked their way further into the cave. It was dank, water dripping from the ceiling and splashing around them. He hoped it was water.   
  


Alex refused to let go of Bethany's hand. Holding her hand made him feel slightly more tethered to reality, a little less terrified of what could happen to them, trapped in this cave. She didn’t seem to mind.

Bethany didn’t mind at all; Alex’s hand in hers helped her push the desire to scream, cry, or bury her head in her (forgotten) sleeping bag and never come out (not necessarily in that order) down and make her way through the damp cave.

“Alex?” she said suddenly. He looked at her, face lit up by the eerie blue glow of the mushrooms.   
  
“Thank you for staying with me. You only have one life left, you could have just left me to the panthers and escaped instead of risking your last life. You probably should have, but I’m really glad you didn’t.” Bethany confessed.   
  
“I would _never,”_ Alex declared vehemently, eyes blazing with conviction. “Bethany I’d have stayed by you if I had one life or ten. I’m not gonna abandon you like that.”   
  


God, what was she even supposed to say to that? What was the proper response to a boy basically saying he’d have died before he left you? At a loss for words, Bethany did the only thing she could think of; she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, so close to his mouth that all Alex had to do was turn a little and they’d have been kissing. His skin was warm under her lips, the hair a little scratchy but in a way that promised to feel amazing on the tender skin of her throat, her thighs.... She pulled back; Alex blinked rapidly, looking lost.   
  


Bethany blushed hotly, realizing suddenly that she was still an old, bearded man wearing _khaki_ and Alex was, well, _Alex_.   
  
“I...I shouldn’t have done that,” she mumbled, suddenly wishing she could just be eaten by panthers after all.   
  


Alex shook his head; her heart sank.

“No,” he said hoarsely. “You shouldn’t have missed.”   
  


Her brain stalled for a moment— _he_ wanted _her—_ before she surged up and kissed him full on, pressing into his front as she reached a hand into his hair. Alex kissed like a man who’d just found water after days without it, kissing her breathless, drawing back just long enough for take a breathe and then diving back in. She nipped at his bottom lip and his breath hitched; she took the opportunity to coax her tongue into his mouth, determined to kiss him senseless. He eagerly reciprocated and she clutched at him, stepping forward even closer into his body. One of his hands stroked at her waist and suddenly she didn’t care anymore that just yesterday her waist had been far more defined. The other was tangled in her hair, having knocked off her ugly little hat. 

Suddenly Bethany became aware of an insistent little problem that had sprung up without her knowledge. Tentatively, she rolled her hips against Alex and moaned at the feeling. Alex reciprocated eagerly and all at once they were rutting against each other, Bethany pressed against the wall of the cave and falling apart under Alex’s insistent mouth and clever hands. It was all she could do to reach out to touch him in turn. Even clothed, the press and slide of him against her was intoxicating.   
  


All too soon, Bethany was shuddering against him, stars shining behind her closed eyes as she came. She moaned as Alex thrust raggedly, mouthing at her neck before he too came. They stood together for a long moment, heavy breathing slowly calming down. Bethany pressed kisses along Alex’s jaw and neck as he leaned against her shoulder, panting.   
  


“That was amazing...you’re amazing.” Alex said finally, raising his head to look at her. Bethany blushed a little.   
  


“I know I look like a fat old guy, you can’t be all that into me.” She mumbled, still feeling insecure. Alex huffed.   
  


“Do you not remember what just happened? Sure, I like girls, but I like guys too. Besides, I bet you’re pretty fly no matter what body you’re in.”   
  


“Fly?” Bethany said confusedly.   
  


“You know, cool, hot, whatever,” Alex waved his hand impatiently. “Doesn’t matter. The point is, if I didn’t think you, as a person, were attractive and funny and generally amazing I wouldn’t have come in my pants just now like a twelve year old.”   
  


Bethany snorted against her will. “God, Alex, what a classy way to end your beautiful speech.”   
  


He rolled his eyes impatiently. “My point is, I really liked what just happened and I hope you did too. I wanna do that with you whether you’re a girl or a guy, whenever you’ll let me.”   
  


Bethany smiled a little shyly at him. “Anytime,” she said, pulling him in for a lingering kiss. “I want you, in or out of this game. And when we’re out of this cave and not being chased by something that wants to kill us, I’m gonna show you just how bad I want you.” She’d love every second of it, too, feeling him press into her for the first time, the delicious slide of him moving inside her.   
  


Alex’s eyes darkened. “That had better be a promise.” He said lowly.   
  


“Oh, it is.” Bethany winked, taking his hand and leading them farther into the cave.   
  


—————————————————————

Jumanji savored the energy practically exploding off of the pair...what a delicious meal they were shaping up to be. Yes, trapping them in the cave by themselves was reaping dividends. Now to throw in a little twist and ensure they’d stay right where the game wanted them.


	6. once more unto the breach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I busted out five chapters, left it alone for weeks, and came back to so many kudos and bookmarks! Thank you all!  
> I haven’t already abandoned this story; my grandfather died (not from COVID) and I lost all motivation for a while. But now I’m back and ready to write.

Alex and Bethany traveled further into the cave, which seemed to slope endlessly downward the longer they walked. It was still eerily blue in the cave with the glowing mushrooms lighting the way, and rapidly growing cooler as the pair pressed on.   
  
“How much farther do you think this thing goes?” Bethany said, peering down at her map, which was of course oh-so-helpfully displaying a glowing little trail of, you guessed it, mushrooms.   
  


Alex shrugged. “I dunno but there’s gotta be something we’re supposed to find.” 

"Who are we kidding? This is exactly the sort of stupid thing this freaky game would make us do just for kicks." Bethany scoffed. 

Alex had to give her that. This was the same game that gave someone a weakness to mosquitoes in the middle of a jungle full of them, after all, like it wanted Alex to die instead of making it through. But what would be the point of that? Wouldn’t it make more sense to allow players to stay alive? If they all disappeared because Jumanji killed them, things would start looking suspicious outside the game...wouldn’t they?   
  


”Omg, hold on a second, the map is changing! Ugh, all this zooming in and out is gonna make me sick though. Can maps even give you motion sickness?” Bethany gagged, looking rather seasick.   
  


“Bethany, focus! What’s changing?” Alex prompted, suddenly worried that some sort of cave monster was going to lunge out and attack them. Maybe the mushrooms would come to life and eat them....Alex shuddered. He’d almost rather face the panthers than have mutant fungi take him down.   
  


“It’s showing, like, some sort of prize or something? A treasure? Is this how Dora the Explorer feels? If Fridge’s backpack starts talking to me I am _out_ , seriously.”   
  


Alex decided to ignore the Dora comment. Some things you just couldn’t talk about in Jumanji for fear they’d actually happen.   
  


“Treasures are good, right? Does it say anything about it?” He asked.

“No, this stupid map is just like Twitter. Important information in useless tiny packages. ” Bethany rolled her eyes. 

  
“What’s a Twitter?” said Alex, confused. Bethany and the others said a lot of things he didn’t quite understand but whatever this Twitter was confused him beyond even that.   
  


“What do you mean, what’s a Twitter? Everyone knows what Twitter is. Wait, you’re not like a Mormon or Amish or whatever people it is that don’t do electricity or anything are you?” Bethany quizzed.   
  
  


A boy this generally perfect had to have some sort of flaw, but if Alex’s was that he was anti-technology their romance was going to be doomed from the start, she thought to herself.

“I’m not Amish, we’ve literally had a computer at my house since they first really came out but I’ve seriously never heard of this Twitter thing before.” Alex said frustratedly.   
  


‘Since they first came out’ stuck out in Bethany’s mind. She was no history buff, but she knew her mom had talked before about how when she was young it was a big deal for her family to have a computer, how it was only because her mom, Bethany’s Nana, had needed it for her job that they had it and they were the only ones on their street to have a home computer...back in the 80s.   
  


“Alex? I need to ask you something and I don’t want you to freak out, okay? What year is it?” She asked, heart racing.   
  


“What are you talking about?” Alex looked puzzled. “It’s 1996.”   
  


Bethany bit her lip as tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Alex, it’s not 1996 anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time,” she whispered. “For me, for the others, it’s 2016.”

The floor swayed beneath him and Alex clutched at the cave wall for support.   
  


“2016?” He wheezed. “It can’t be, I haven’t been in here that long.”   
  


“You’re Alex Vreeke, aren’t you?” Bethany asked, looking distraught. He nodded jerkily.   
  


“Everyone in Brantford knows who you are. You disappeared without a trace 20 years ago, it’s still talked about around town. Alex, I’m so sorry.”   
  


A sob rose in Alex’s throat as he looked at Bethany, her brown eyes big and pitying behind her round spectacles as she broke the horrible truth to him, and he crumpled, Bethany catching him as he sobbed against her shoulder.   
  


“It’s going to be alright Alex, I’m going to get you home to your parents no matter what,” she vowed, rubbing soothing circles into his back.   
  


“How could I have sat around hiding in Alan Parrish’s treehouse for twenty years when my parents were left behind thinking I’d just disappeared?” He wept. “How could I do that to them?”

”No, Alex, you didn’t know, you couldn’t have known,” Bethany soothed. “If you had, I know you’d have done anything to get home to them.”   
  


They remained on the cave floor until Bethany’s legs cramped and Alex’s tears ran out. Wiping his face with his sleeve, voice still thick with tears, Alex looked at Bethany.   
  


“We need to keep moving, I’m not going to keep my family waiting another day if I can help it.”   
  


Bethany nodded, reaching out to wipe a few remaining tears from his face. Alex leaned into her touch, suddenly longing for more, but they had to keep moving.   
  


They followed the glowing mushroom trail deeper still, until the narrow cave opened into an immense cavern filled with an eerie blue glow. Bethany stopped so suddenly, Alex nearly bowled her over before seeing why she’d stopped. Just a few feet before them, the path banked sharply right, changing to a set of steep, roughly hewn stone steps descending into the cavern. Bethany looked up at Alex, spectacles reflecting the strange blue light, and took his hand before beginning the climb.   
  


The oath took them to the center of the cavern, where it was bitterly cold and filled with almost blindingly bright blue-white light. The light emanated from a strange blue stone on a plinth before them, and Alex swore he could hear indistinct whispering coming from it. As if in a trance, Bethany reached for the stone and the whispers grew louder.   
  
“Bethany, no!” Alex flung a hand out, trying to stop her, but it was as if the stone was a magnet—their hands were yanked to it no matter how Alex pulled. Their hands touched the stone, the light flared, and Alex clutched at Bethany as they were suddenly blasted backwards, flying through the air only to land painfully on the stone floor. Alex heard, as if from far away, a girl moaning in pain. He stirred, but the effort was too much. Everything went black and he knew no more.   
  


Everything was going according to plan. Jumanji could see the two coming closer together and knew that this new surprise would only bring the game more delicious morsels of emotion to snack on. 


End file.
